Margaritaville at Sea Islander Makes First Curaçao Call
The former Costa Atlantica reached Curaçao during a ten-night Port Tampa Bay cruise, after Margaritaville at Sea reversed the Aruba and Curaçao call order in August.
Curaçao welcomed Margaritaville at Sea Islander to Willemstad on Sept. 10 for the brand’s first call at the island. Port, tourism, customs and shipping representatives joined the captain aboard the vessel for a plaque exchange.
The call followed a record 2025 in which Willemstad handled 883,000 cruise passengers. During the first half of 2026, the port received 515,556 passengers across 204 cruise ship visits.
First call during 10-night sailing
Representatives from Curaçao Ports Authority, the Curaçao Tourist Board, Maduro Shipping and Curaçao Customs took part in the onboard ceremony. The port announcement did not include comments from a Curaçao official, the ship’s captain or a Margaritaville at Sea executive.
Islander, the former Costa Atlantica, reached Willemstad during a 10-night Southern and Western Caribbean cruise that departed Port Tampa Bay on Sept. 5. The itinerary, the ship’s longest in 2026, also includes George Town in the Cayman Islands, Oranjestad in Aruba and Ocho Rios in Jamaica before its scheduled return to Tampa on Sept. 15.
Aruba and Curaçao calls were rescheduled
Margaritaville at Sea notified passengers in August that the Aruba and Curaçao portions of the voyage had been reversed. Islander called at Oranjestad on Sept. 9 from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., followed by Willemstad on Sept. 10 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The original schedule placed Willemstad first, with a noon-to-11 p.m. call, and Oranjestad the following day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Each call lost an hour of scheduled time.
The changes did not affect the ship’s scheduled visits to Grand Cayman and Jamaica or its departure and return times in Tampa. Passengers with independently arranged shore excursions had to address any scheduling conflicts directly with their tour providers.
Another Southern Caribbean cruise planned
Refurbished before entering Margaritaville at Sea service in 2024, Islander primarily operates four- to eight-night cruises from Tampa, calling at destinations including Cozumel, Key West and Nassau. Its schedule also includes occasional longer voyages reaching the Southern Caribbean.
A further 10-night cruise is planned for mid-September 2027, with calls in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Aruba and Curaçao. That sailing is also scheduled to add Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic.
